~ Researching Russell Co, Kentucky

Monthly Archives: March 2018

A continuing feature on the blog for 2018 is be a series called “120 Years Ago Today”. I’m collecting newspaper clippings relevant to Russell County from The Adair County News in the year 1898. I hope you find some surprises to add to your family tree!

I’ll be doing a bit of digital cleanup on the files to remove streaks and scratches, but you can download the original file from the link. Right-click on my image to save the cleaned-up version. I also plan to include a list of names mentioned in the articles at the end of the blog post to make it possible to find with an internet search.

March in Indiana is notorious to weather swings. Sunny and beautiful one day and snow storms the next. Today, for a few hours, I had the sunny and beautiful weather in front of 5 days of forecasted rain. So I took the opportunity to get outside for an hour to do a little garden clean-up and I couldn’t help but think about how my goals for that hour were analogous to my genealogy work.

#1 – Take a look at what’s popping up below the surface.

The bed I chose to work in today is one of several iris beds. Two years ago, I dug up, split and transplanted hundred of iris bulbs. The bed I worked on today seemed to struggle last year and was very behind all of the other beds. So last fall, I decided to leave all of the foliage alone over the winter to allow the dying leaves to feed the bulbs to give them a little extra strength. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I took a peek under these leaves and sure enough, lots of new plants popping up underneath!

This made me think about how often I open a page in Ancestry for an ancestor who I haven’t looked at in quite awhile and been pleasantly surprised to see new records available for that person. Haven’t worked on a specific line for awhile? It might be worth going back for a “peek underneath”.

#2 – Take care of issues early rather than waiting for a better time.

My neighbor has a large maple tree in their front yard. It is beautiful. But the seeds of a maple tree have wings and I’m pretty sure that ALL of the seeds from that tree land in my flower beds! As I cut out the old, dead leaves of my irises, I found dozens and dozens of those seeds in the dirt.

I know what would happen to those seeds if they were exposed to 5 days of rain plus warming temperatures. I needed to make sure that I was removing every single seed or I would be looking at a major headache this summer!

What is the seed that you need to remove from your research before it gets out of control? About a year ago, I noticed that someone on Ancestry had an image of my grandfather’s family in their tree. I have the same image and I may very well have shared the image with the person, but I couldn’t recall for sure. The only problem was that the image description had the wrong name for the parents. Instead of my great-grandparents names, the description listed my great-great-grandparents. Oops! But I didn’t say anything. I was amazed at how quickly (and how often) that image started popping up as a “hint” for my great-great-grandparents – and from more than one account. The mis-labeled image had been incorrectly attached to trees over and over and over. And some of those people had cropped the image to have individual headshots – which is fine – except that they were incorrectly labeled because of the first image description. I’ve commented on several of the images to try to spread the word, but I have a feeling that this image has already spread too far and that the comments won’t reach everyone. Perhaps if I had made my comment sooner?

Do you have a record in your online account that is mis-attributed? I’d say this happens most often when 2 different people have the same name. Take a closer look to “weed” these sources out of your research as quickly as you can.

#3 – Slow and steady makes the process much more enjoyable

It happens every spring. The weather turns nice and I go out to work in my beds. But there’s so much to do! I push myself to get as much done as possible. And the next day, the aches and pains remind me that I can’t do as much as I used to and still do a great job.

It’s the same way when I don’t work on my research for awhile. Or if I don’t work on a specific LINE for awhile. How painful is it to go back and figure out where I was? How much time do I waste finding the same things over and over because I didn’t stick to my organization system? Why didn’t I label that digital file with the date or the location or even the ancestor it applied to? Because I was rushed and figured I’d fix it later. We’ve got to know exactly where our files will be stored and what our naming template will be. We’ve got to have a plan in mind and stick with it!

#4 – You’ve got to do the prep work before you’ll see the flowers.

If I don’t start early to clean the dead stuff out of my beds, the flowers that come up later will be sickly and pale. And part of my “prep work” in my gardens has got to be making a plan so that everything gets done when it needs to be done.

Prep work in genealogy not only means having my supplies gathered and having a goal in mind for that research session, but it also means doing the “boring” stuff at the end of the session so that I can get a quicker start on my next research session.

It’s much easier when I make good use of my Research Plan and keep good notes to remember which record sets I’ve already looked for. But updating that plan is so BORING! I can be spending that time to RESEARCH, right? I need to remind myself that I don’t have to find every record in one setting. Much better to take my time, really analyse the record in front of me and to take good notes in my Research Plan so that my next steps won’t be painful.

Have you gone to a genealogy conference in the last year? Or watched a great genealogy webinar? Did you get excited about the information you were hearing? If you took notes, did you put your notes into practice when you got back to the “real world”?

I went to the Rootstech conference a few weeks ago and I took TONS of notes. I was most excited about the information I was collecting on doing German genealogy research for my husband’s line. But since I’ve come home, I have only gone back to look at 1 set of notes. (Couldn’t attend? You can still watch 38 presentations here!)

Maybe you can’t go to genealogy conferences. Have you ever searched for “Genealogy” on YouTube? How about watching the free webinars on Legacy Family Tree Webinars? They consistently put out 2-3 webinars every week and they are always free to watch for the first 7 days after they have been published. I have a subscription so that I can go back and binge watch whenever I like – and I have lots of notes on what I’m hearing!

But I don’t often go back to my notes to see what my action items were. So if you’ve ever taken notes at a conference or during a webinar, this week’s “Snack” is to find your notes and see what it was that made you so excited as you were taking those notes.

And here we are at the end of another month! Let’s take a look at the “Snacks” so far:

A continuing feature on the blog for 2018 is be a series called “120 Years Ago Today”. I’m collecting newspaper clippings relevant to Russell County from The Adair County News in the year 1898. I hope you find some surprises to add to your family tree!

I’ll be doing a bit of digital cleanup on the files to remove streaks and scratches, but you can download the original file from the link. Right-click on my image to save the cleaned-up version. I also plan to include a list of names mentioned in the articles at the end of the blog post to make it possible to find with an internet search.

Blaine Bettinger is a well-know genetic genealogist. He has done a fantastic job of collecting data to help us understand our DNA matches better. Yesterday, I posted about the Shared cM project in which Blaine has collected DNA information from thousands of participants in order to create a chart showing the range of shared cM numbers for each relationship.

One of the ways that he collects this data is through a Google form that is open to anyone who has completed dna testing. You can help further this project by adding your own data for KNOWN RELATIONSHIP MATCHES to the project. Blaine updates this chart whenever he has a significant amount of new data.

Today’s snack: look up the number of shared cMs you have for at least 1 known ancestor and contribute that number to the project. You can fill in the form for as many known matches as you have.

Before you go to the form, you’ll need the following information:

The relationship between the two matched individuals (brother/sister, aunt/nephew, 1C1R, etc.)

Total shared cM

Number of shared segments

Any known endogamy or known cousin marriages? (yes/no)

Source of the dna test

Optional information includes:

Number of cM in the longest block (this data is not available through AncestryDNA)

Are you using DNA testing in your genealogy research? If so, you have probably seen this chart from the Shared cM Project.

You take a look at the number of cMs you share with your match and then you can use the chart from the Shared cM Project to find the most likely relationship between you and your match.

The way to find the number of cMs you share with a match is different for each DNA site. I currently have DNA kits on 3 different sites, so I can show you how to find the cMs on those 3.

To see the number of cMs you share with a match on Ancestry:

Click the “View Match” button. Note: your match does not have to have a tree in order to see how much DNA you share.

Once you are on their page, click on the small letter I below the Predicted relationship. A pop-up box will tell you how much DNA you share.

To see the number of cMs you share with a match on FTDNA:

Navigate to your list of matches and look in the column that says “Shared Centimorgans”.

To see the number of cMs you share with a match on MyHeritage:

The number is included along with the information for each match.

Once you have this number, you can use the chart to see all of the possible relationships you might have with your match.

If you find the chart confusing, there is another tool that will help you out. Jonny Perl has a fantastic web tool if you like the idea of “mapping” each segment of a dna kit to the ancestor(s) who passed it along. I am slowly using this tool to get a better idea of how I am connected to some of my DNA matches. But he also has an interactive version of the Shared cM Project chart that I love.

Go to dnapainter.com and click on “Tools” at the top of the screen. (You do not have to be registered to use the tool.)

Click on the option for the most recent version of the tool. The creator of the chart, Blaine Bettinger, continues to collect data and updates the chart on a regular basis, so you will always want to look for the most recent version.

In the box at the top of the page, enter the number of cMs you share with your match.

Notice that the chart at the bottom has changed to show you the most likely relationships you and your match might have based on the number of cMs. But just below where you entered your number, he also gives a table showing you the probability for every possible relationship based on the number of cMs. If you know the age of your match, you can use a little common sense to eliminate some of those highlight boxes in the chart. For example, a 40 year old person is pretty certainly NOT your great-great aunt or uncle!

I love working with my DNA matches, but I do find that once I get going with it, I can’t tear myself away! I have to drag myself away to get back to my “traditional” research, but I’m hoping that it won’t be long till I’m breaking through my brick walls by using my DNA info! And PLEASE, if you discover one of my kits in your list of matches, let me know!!!

A continuing feature on the blog for 2018 is be a series called “120 Years Ago Today”. I’m collecting newspaper clippings relevant to Russell County from The Adair County News in the year 1898. I hope you find some surprises to add to your family tree!

I’ll be doing a bit of digital cleanup on the files to remove streaks and scratches, but you can download the original file from the link. Right-click on my image to save the cleaned-up version. I also plan to include a list of names mentioned in the articles at the end of the blog post to make it possible to find with an internet search.

There were no mentions from Russell County this week, so I thought you’d enjoy looking at the Store Ad that appeared on the front page of just about every edition of the paper. There will be quite an increase in the number of Russell County related items beginning next week!

Here’s a challenge for you. How many different formats for an ancestor’s name can you list? Think Google Searching. I seem to get fixated on a name and rarely consider searching for different formats of a name. As I’ve been working through the weekly newspaper clippings for Russell County, I notice that 90% of the names are given with initials – something I would rarely look for in a Google search. A book index might have your ancestor’s name listed with the last name first.

Think about possible nick-names. You can use Google to find a list of nicknames for a specific name. Another great site for this would be Wolframalpha.com. If you enter a name, you’ll get lots of information about the name. Popularity ranking, estimates for the current US population, etc. But if you scroll down, you’ll see a box labeled “Alternate versions”. That box will give you a list of variations for the name you’ve entered. Here’s the list of alternates for the name “Mary”.

Think also about common misspellings of the name. For example: Stephens vs. Stevens

If your ancestor was from another country, or THEIR parents were from another country, don’t forget to consider foreign versions of the name as well. For example – Andrew vs. Andreas.

Once you’ve created your list, consider adding it to your Research Plan for that ancestor.

To get you started:
First Middle Last
First Middle Initial Last
Last, First
Last, First Middle
Last, First Middle Initial
First Initial Last
First and Middle Initials Last
Nickname Last
Abbreviation Last

If you are brainstorming for a female ancestor, don’t forget that often, females were referred to with their husband’s name. For example, Mrs. A.J. Stephens. Think of ways that “Mrs.” could be included in your list.

A continuing feature on the blog for 2018 is be a series called “120 Years Ago Today”. I’m collecting newspaper clippings relevant to Russell County from The Adair County News in the year 1898. I hope you find some surprises to add to your family tree!

I’ll be doing a bit of digital cleanup on the files to remove streaks and scratches, but you can download the original file from the link. Right-click on my image to save the cleaned-up version. I also plan to include a list of names mentioned in the articles at the end of the blog post to make it possible to find with an internet search.

It’s March! For some of us, we might be sensing the very first hints of spring. Maybe you’ve had your fill of winter and you are getting a bit of cabin fever. Wouldn’t a genealogy road trip be nice?

Time for a little day dreaming. If you could hit the road tomorrow, where would you go and what would you research once you got there? Take a few minutes and make a list. Keep your list handy for the next week because once you start thinking about something, your brain will keep working on it even when you aren’t aware that it is. Suddenly, a new idea will come to your mind. (Especially in the middle of the night!) Keep your list on your night stand with a pencil handy. Keep it on your desk at work. Keep it on the table next to your chair while you watch tv. You never know when inspiration will strike!

Would you:

Visit a cemetery?

Which cemetery?

What’s the address?

Who is buried there? Do you have a list of every ancestor in the cemetery?

Add this information to your Research Plan for that ancestor!

Visit the library?

Look for their website

Do they have a genealogy section?

Do they have vertical files? Many library keep obituaries from the local paper.

Does the library have old newspapers?

What specific books would you look for?

Make a list of ancestors with dates that might be included in the book.

Add the book to your Research Plan for that ancestor!

Visit the courthouse?

Make a “To look for” list

Does FamilySearch happen to have those records available online?

Add the records to your Research Plan!

Visit the historical society?

When do they have their meetings?

Interview a relative?

Which relative?

What would you ask?

Ask about old photos.

Take photos of historical places?

Which ones?

Can you find the address where an ancestor used to live or work?

Does it still exist?

I’d love to hear what you’d add to the list! It might be just the brain-jogger the rest of us need when making our own list!